Okays, so I said that Mitch and Jerome were the two main protagonists... well this morning, I was looking over my story plans, and I noticed one other character I couldn't bear to kill off, and the plot would still work if this character lived.

I will not reveal the character, because that would spoil the surprise, so I will just say this, just because somebody dies, doesn't mean they are dead. This will become relevant in the actual arena though, so a long way to go.

Anyways, lets get this next chapter going, and we will finally meet our second protagonist.

The Tribute Parade

Yesterday, I arrived in the Capitol, saw the Tributes from Districts Five, and over, emerge from the trains, ate to my body's content, and today, I'm being subjected to a make over.

It was the day of the Tribute Parade, and as such, we all needed to look our absolute best, especially so we could make a great first impression to the Sponsers. And Darban put the whole situation rather nicely. "We can't show you filthy and dirty rats to the Capitol like this!"

And so, mere minutes after breakfast, we were grabbed and dragged into our own seperate rooms in the Centre so a stylist team of professionals could work their magic on us. Now for the basic 'clean up' or so they called it, the Tributes were taken in pairs so that the stylists saved time. Boys went with boys, and girls went with girls.

I walked into my waiting room, and to my surprise, I was paired up with, none other than, the boy from District Twelve, Jerome Oaken. He would give the stylists quite a shock, all of that fur. I couldn't help but stare at the furry boy, and the boy just ignored it.

"Um, excuse me, uh-" I couldn't think of a nice way of asking about the fur. The boy looked at me with passive eyes, and before I could even think, I blurted out, "You're fluffy!"

The boy gave me an amused, yet untrusting look. He had the right idea though. "I'm fluffy," He repeated, giving me another glance. "Nice first impression."

"Sorry, it just - the fur-"

"I'ma Bacca, I was born with fur," The Bacca said calmly. "The name's Jerome Oaken, yours?"

"Mitch Hughes, I volunteered for District Two," I spluttered, unsure as to why I was feeling so nervous and confused.

"Oh I know Biggums. I watched you volunteer a few times over, being the only one that did this year..."

"Biggums?" I asked curiously, forgetting about the Games for a moment to have a true conversation. "That a nickname or something?"

"Just something I call the friendly people," The Bacca smiledm holding out a hand. I was in a state of should or should not. Should I trust Jerome? He seemed friendly enough...

"Sure," I finally replied, haking Jerome's hand. We would have talked more, but the stylists appeared, and then my hellish make over began. I was set down on a table after taking off most of my clothes and being left in a gown.

"MY GOD!" I heard a stylist scream in the other room. Jerome must have made quite the impression. I chuckled slightly, until I heard a yelp, knowing my new friend had just been make-overed somehow.

"Okay dearie, you need your hair washed, full pore remover, waxing, full clean... on second thoughts, you need everything!" The stylist cried out. "Get ready people, he needs to be ready for Nastashia!"

Those few hours were some of the most traumatic moments of my life. Screw the games, the stylists were much scarier. They started with the waxing, getting rid of my body hair. They waxed everywhere, and I mean everywhere!

There were knots in my hair they had to comb out, and after that brutal attack by the ladies in white, I was practically dunked in anti-blemish cream. When I came out of that, my skin was perfectly smooth, not even a few scars or flaws, although it made me feel...vulnerable...exposed.

Finally, the stylists left the room and told me to stay inside to wait for Nastashia, the main head stylist. I sat there, hearing the stylists next door leave too. I just stood there, uncomfortably waiting. In the end I got bored and noticed a door connecting the two stylist rooms. "I may as well talk to someone."

I walked up to the door and opened it, noticing movement coming from the table in the room Jerome sat there looking rather confused and sad. I noticed that he had been trimmed slightly, and I saw what looked like shampoo and conditioner. The Bacca was slightly wet.

"You look like you went through one of them washing machines," I joked.

"Haha, says you, the one who screamed like a girl when they waxed, 'down there,' Jerome smirked, looking at my face for a reaction. I went bright red, looking at the floor awkwardly.

"Shaddup," I whined, looking at the Bacca in more detail. Jerome was around the same hieght as me, same build as me, same eyes as me, same color of hair and fur. He was like the Bacca version of me, or I was the human version of him. "We are very similar, you know that."

"I noticed Biggums, but I look more handsome," He mocked.

"This coming from Mr. Fluffy himself," I joked, both of us chuckling until we heard noises down the hall. I decided to leave Jerome with something to think about. "Oh, and have you ever been waxed 'down there?' It should hurt!"

I closed the door to our connecting rooms, and went to sit on the table. I looked to see a very stylish woman walk in. Her hair was a bright pink while her dress, which seemed more like a kimono, was purple with golden dragons on the lining.

"I am Nastashia, head stylist for you, Mitch Hughes. The stylists went slightly overboard I see; well anyways, you shall be dressed in a gladiator style clothing. Your District uses it every year as tradition, and I feel it will suit you. Now let's begin-"

As it turned out, Nastashia was actually the most sane out of the stylists. She was calm, thoughtful, and she could tell my different likes and dislikes. She was observant, and once she had finished tailoring my gladiator suit, I looked rather interesting.

I was released a half an hour before the parade, and decided to wait for Jerome. Other than Amelia, Jerome was my only aquaintance here, maybe not a friend yet, but we got on well enough. I almost burst out laughing when I saw Jerome's costume.

It was five minutes after I was released, that Jerome emerged from his room wearing a full coal miner's outfit. This would have been normal for anybody else, but the Bacca's fur made the costume look hilarious, fur sticking out everywhere.

"Well haha, Mr. Gladiator," Jerome mumbled when he saw me.

"C'mon, let's get to the parade. I'm sure we will both look like idiots together."

Jerome nodded and we both stepped away from the stylist rooms, both od us never wanting to go back there again. We walked through the Tribute Centre, an avox pointing us in the right direction and we emerged in a small hanger of sorts.

Most of the tributes were already there, and after saying goodbye to Jerome, I moved over to Amelia, Darban and Zefeera, who all looked at me with the same look. They wanted answers.

"Why were you talking with one of the poorest Districts like Twelve, you know, the one that never wins the games?" Amelia asked, glaring at me.

"Jerome and me were paired up for the stylists. We got talking. He's a good guy," I replied, knowing full well what the reply would be.

"You are here to win boy! Not make silly friends with a real-life furry!" Darban snapped, stalking away from the group.

Zefeera looked at me. "He's an idiot, but I know better. That Jerome, he could have some hidden potential. You and he share the same physical traits, so he may just be as skilled as you." A loud horn suddenly blared across the room. "Get on your chariots! We will talk about the career alliance later!"

I stepped onto my chariot and felt Amelia beside me. In my opinion, she was rather annoying, and with her around, I felt rather restrained.

Loudly, the anthem of the Capitol and Panem began to play and the horses began to move. I had a few moments to get a sense of balance before going out, and then there was cheering all around us.

"And here are our Tributes from District Two dressed in their traditional gladiator uniforms!" I got into action, waving at people, while Amelia blew kisses, both of us holding each other's hands to show a sense of unity. I didn't pay attention to the announcer until District Twelve.

"And here we have the Tr- Wait? Is that a Bacca in a miner's clothing?! That is priceless! Gotta love those stylists! The crowds are loving it!

As every chariot crossed the parade street, they all formed a large semi-circle outside of the Tribute Centre building. President Snow got up to make his annoying, boring and generally tediously long speech. I knew the speech was just long so all of the District Tributes got shown off, some more than others.

Surprisingly, District Twelve, with Jerome as a coal miner, got the most screen time, next to us, District Two, and then the other popular Districts, followed by the poorer Districts. After that hellish speech, I heard the words I would ultimately come to hate. "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

I only hoped the odds were in my favor.

Wow, so now Jerome is introduced, next chapter features the introduction of the more important tributes, as we move on to the Training. I am going to update soon, and as usual, review and favourite so I can continue.

See ya later,

CENOBIA100!